Today in History, Feb. 11: Nelson Mandela

1990: Nelson Mandela

On Feb. 11, 1990, South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.

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1929: Lateran Treaty

In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.

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1945: Yalta Agreement

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement, in which Stalin agreed to declare war against Imperial Japan following Nazi Germany's capitulation.

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1968: Madison Square Garden

In 1968, New York City's fourth and current Madison Square Garden, located on Manhattan's West Side at the site of what used to be the Pennsylvania Station building, opened with a "Salute to the USO" hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. (The same evening, the New York Rangers played their final game at the third Garden, tying the Detroit Red Wings 3-3.)

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1979: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

In 1979, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (hoh-MAY'-nee) seized power in Iran.

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1986: Natan Sharansky

In 1986, Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky was released by the Soviet Union after nine years of captivity as part of an East-West prisoner exchange.

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2006: Dick Cheney

In 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded Harry Whittington, a companion during a weekend quail-hunting trip in Texas.

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2008: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

In 2008, the Pentagon charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (HAH'-leed shayk moh-HAH'-med) and five other detainees at Guantanamo Bay with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.

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2009: House Financial Services Committee

Ten years ago: The nation's top bankers went before the House Financial Services Committee, pledging to build public trust with greater lending and fewer perks.

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2009: John Dingell

Ten years ago: Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who first went to Congress in 1955, became the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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2009: Miguel Tejada

Ten years ago: All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about steroids in baseball. (He was sentenced to a year's probation.)

2009: Zimbabwe

2012: Whitney Houston

In 2012, pop singer Whitney Houston, 48, was found dead in a hotel room bathtub in Beverly Hills, California.

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2013: Pope Benedict XVI

In 2013, with a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI did what no pope had done in more than half a millennium: announced his resignation. The bombshell came during a routine morning meeting of Vatican cardinals. (The 85-year-old pontiff was succeeded by Pope Francis.)

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2014: Barack Obama & Francois Hollande

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, during a joint White House news conference with French President Francois Hollande, vowed to come down like "a ton of bricks" on businesses that violated Iranian sanctions while nuclear negotiations were under way, and conceded "enormous frustration" with stalled Syrian peace talks.

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2014: Sochi Olympics

Five years ago: At the Sochi Games, Carina Vogt of Germany won women's ski jumping's first-ever Olympic gold medal.

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2018: Russia Plane Crash

One year ago: A Russian passenger plane crashed into a snowy field six minutes after taking off from Moscow, killing all 65 passengers and six crew members; investigators would blame human error, saying the pilots had received flawed air speed readings after failing to turn on a heating unit for the measurement equipment.

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2018: Vic Damone

One year ago: Singer Vic Damone, who possessed what Frank Sinatra once called "the best pipes in the business," died in Florida at the age of 89.

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2018: Winter Olympics

One year ago: Amid swirling winds, 17-year-old snowboarder Red Gerard won the United States' first gold medal of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, capturing the men's slopestyle event.